Soccer
Emile Heskey thinks FIFA Club World Cup is good indicator of the Chelsea and Man City next season
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Manchester City and Chelsea both enjoyed opening wins in their first games at the FIFA Club World Cup , as they look to become the first team to win the newly expanded version of the competition.
City ran out comfortable victors against Wydad in their opener, while Chelsea dispatched of MLS side LAFC, both running out 2-0 winners.
The tournament has been a first opportunity for the club's new signings to make an impression, and watching on, Emile Heskey has been a keen observer of their form.
The former Liverpool striker spoke exclusively to DAZN News , thanks to VBET, and believes the Club World Cup is ideal for seeing how the clubs are shaping up ahead of next season.
He said, “I’ve been looking forward to watching Man City play as I think they will get closest to Liverpool in the league next season, and they have new signings.
"I’m interested to see how Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Cherki slowly get integrated into the side and how their new-look team does in the tournament.
"Cherki is such a talented footballer and exciting to watch, so he would be the standout for me.
“I’m also looking forward to watching Chelsea. Their manager, Enzo Maresca, is a former Leicester boss, and I think the Club World Cup will be a good indication of how they will fare in the league next season.
"They were inconsistent at times last season, which is slightly worrying, but they qualified for the Champions League and won the Conference League, which is all that matters. But I think this competition is a tough one; there are some good teams involved, but all the top teams haven’t had any time off, especially when you consider the recent international games.
“I think the tournament will be a good early indicator for next season in the Premier League as well as for the Champions League, with some top teams taking part in it.”
So far, the European teams have flexed their muscles and are still heavily fancied to reach the final stages of the competition.
Heskey can see both English sides going deep into the tournament, but feels they might come unstuck against one of the other heavyweights in the US.
Adding, “I can see both Chelsea and Man City getting quite far in the tournament. I expect them to cruise past the group stages and make some noise in the knockouts, but it won’t be an easy competition to win.
"PSG and Bayern Munich look in good form, and everyone knows how Real Madrid perform in knockout football."
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